Al Lewis – Battles

There’s little to discover on Welsh songwriter Al Lewis’s second English-language album, but that’s not to say there’s nothing to enjoy. Lewis’s acoustic balladry may constitute a particularly conservative take on the contemporary singer-songwriter genre, but despite its deeply ingrained predictability, the results are always pleasant.

The setup and execution of tracks like Treading Water is simple but effective: over a bed of acoustic guitar and harmonica, mellow vocals flutter and glide, with Lewis’s gentle croon accentuated by long-term collaborator Sarah Howells’ mellifluous harmonies. Deviations to the formula occasionally creep in; the Bread-tinged sway of Don’t Believe in Magic, for instance, is a gorgeous mid-album highlight, and its moments like this that ensure Battles offsets tedium despite its familiarity.

This is coffee shop music to its core – always nice, never surprising – yet within its narrow boundaries, Battles conveys enough personality to elevate Lewis a couple of notches above the median standard.